As the Indian corporate world matures, we have enough CEO’s, COOs pursuing as consultants across corporate world. We also have a breed of the professional consultancy firms trying to fix issues, an organization faces in different functions. Driving parallels like great noble profession! Like a doctor who attempts to cure an illness/disease of a patient when in pain. Brings him back to pink of health …

 But, in today’s corporate world with education levels going up, we also find that there is a good pool of low and middle management professionals in any organization who are capable of top notch performance and do provide constant feedback about on ground reality and does give a constant reality check about environment around of competition, technology, market conditions etc.

But as top management when move up the ladder in the corporate world and loose connect with ground, we fail to listen to these soldiers on the ground. And fail to act on it, and end up in a situation where we are either pushed with no option and suggested to hire a consultant who would get out of this sticky situation.

And so a consultant is being hired, who diagnosis and analysis, hearing all the key stakeholders and their suggestions and understand their pain points and comes with a prescription which had actually been suggested by the lower and middle management for a very long time and had been shouting at the top of the roof to implement.

But as professionals, we were pretending to be Deaf OR Ignorant.

Why does this situation arise where outsider suggestions are welcomed and implemented and all the energies are being put to implement while the same suggestions were thrown out of the window when provided by the internal employees? 

Is it a syndrome called “Ghar ki murgi daal barabar” which is there in most organization in varied degree depending on its maturity to take & act of feedback?

My take, consultants are non-playing captains and can certainly add great value, if the organization is confused about its strategic goals and future lookouts. On a macro level, where strategic goals and choices are to be made, where new market entries or new businesses are to be thought up, where M&As are need to be evaluated, where big ticket business buyouts are planned, where big financial decisions are at stake, where correct capex deployment is to be figured out can have an active participation from a consultant.

But at an operational efficiency, tactical, guerrilla operation & process, employees who are professionals, have their ears to the ground and are much more aware of the ground realities and are the stethoscopes of the market dynamics. We must certainly shed our designations and listen to what they have to say and implement on merit, instead of brushing them aside. And a captain in the field only can do that!

Do share your thoughts on the same ….

# These are my personnel views and no where relevant to my official role and organization